Pentagram has designed Nick Cave’s latest book, The Sick Bag Song. Written during Cave’s 22-city tour of North America, the book reproduces in full colour 22 sick bags filled with Cave’s scribbles about his encounters. Sitting somewhere between the styles of The Wasteland and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the book provides an intimate insight into Cave’s imaginative universe.
The Sick Bag Song is arranged in the same order as Cave’s tour, beginning in Nashville and ending in Montreal. Each destination is introduced by a simple graphic and an image of the city’s corresponding sick bag followed by images, sketches and observations by Cave.
The book’s design is inspired by the visual language of airlines and blue chip corporate America. The book has a pared-back feel and is laid out as a serious anthology of poetry. The cover is tactile, featuring a white blind embossed design.
